2009 GAMES

Fallen Earth
Fallen Earth is not trying to emulate any other franchise. It capitalizes on the holocaust nightmare scenario that permeates popular culture, but the game itself is like nothing else on the market. The steep initial learning curve will filter out all but a certain type of player. Those who give the game a chance and can handle being completely in control of their character’s destiny will find a deeply nuanced and rewarding play experience that is unique among its competitors(…) This game isn’t for everyone, and that may be the most compelling reason to try it for yourself.- 8.1 from IGN

Avenue Flo
For people who don’t play many adventure games and might find themselves easily frustrated, Avenue Flo is a soft and painless (and polished, and fun) introduction to the genre. But if you already have a few adventure games under your belt then you might find this game a bit too easy, in spite of its considerable charm.- 8.0 from Gamezebo

Nancy Drew: Warnings at Waverly Academy
Warnings at Waverly Academy is a fine return to form for the Nancy Drew series. The previous game in the series, Ransom of the Seven Ships, was missing a certain sparkle that is back here. It’s definitely worth a trip back to high school for this game.- 8.0 from Gamezebo

Last Half of Darkness: Tomb of Zojir
Tomb of Zojir is very similar to its predecessors, continuing the themes of eerie locales, mostly solitary explorations with well-clued and fun puzzles, and not much has changed in terms of puzzle difficulty, graphics, and voice acting. The story this time around does seem relegated more to the secondary materials, and the gameplay is unlikely to dazzle you at many points, but it still manages to provide a solid experience for fans of first-person adventures and the Last Half of Darkness series in particular. And it comes with spiders! I’ll leave it up to you to decide if that’s a good thing.- 7.0 from Adventuregamers

Reincarnations: Awakening
Despite the drawbacks this is still a charming title with a wide variety of puzzles. The game may seem short to some due to the fact that hints are so readily available and puzzles may be skipped, but overall it’s a good length with a nice pace, and chances are you’d be getting your money’s worth out of this title.- 8.0 from Gamezebo

Captain Forever
Unique indie shooter that already won Best Game at GDC China’s IGF

2010 GAMES

Armada 2526
Epic 4X game from Nitronium Games, company run by R.T.Smith, a Creative Assembly veteran designer and Medieval: Total War lead designer and project manager.

Spice Road
a trading and city management game by the people who created Light of Altair (7 from IGN and 7.5 from Out of Eight and )

Toki Arcade
High res remake of the classic arcade game

Strength of the Sword
3rd person, fast paced, action beat ‘em up set in a fantasy realm.

Rocket Knight
Side scrolling sequel to classic Konami franchise

MODS
CSS SCI FI 3: Hardwired for Counter-Strike: Source
Singleplayer modification consisting of 42 missions taking place in 18 retail and 24 custom Counter-Strike: Source maps

Unexpected Conclusion for Half-Life 2: Episode 2
SP mod.

Army of One for Neverwinter Nights with Hordes of the Underdark add-on
“An action-packed adventure designed for Melee fighting characters. Fight evil foes, make new friends, battle your way through hordes of enemies and make a few things explode.”

Lord of Ravenloft ( The Final Chapter. ) for Neverwinter Nights with all add-ons

Live Forever for Neverwinter Nights 2
Story-centric SP module.

Ravenloft Revelations for Neverwinter Nights 2 with Storm of Zehir add-on
“A Story-driven Ravenloft Module based to some extent on the Ravenloft novel Vampire of the Mists. “

Search for the Temple of the Golden Spire for Neverwinter Nights 2 with Mask of Betrayer add-on
“A conversion of an old (1983) AD&D adventure from White Dwarf Scenarios 2. “

Camarilla Edition for Vampire: the Masquerade- Bloodlines
Drastic redesign of whole Bloodlines gameplay which attempts to make you feel more like a vampire during your playthrough.

Clan Quest for Vampire: the Masquerade- Bloodlines
A mod that adds new quest for each of the vampire clans.

FREEWARE

Destroy the Level
Destroy the Level is a side-scrolling shooter in which you have absolutely no control over the ship at all. The brain roughly moves in a straight line, and it’s your job to prevent it from crashing into any obstacles in its path. This is done by using your mouse to drag objects away, demolish buildings, and even divert missiles headed towards the brain.-Indiegames

Excavatorrr
In Excavatorrr you play as an adventurer who is searching for rare treasures in an unexplored network of caves, equipped with only a pickaxe and some starting items strewn on the floor. Maps are procedurally generated every time you start a new game, and you can only replenish items or offload treasures for cash back at the shop (press up at the entrance) on the surface.-Indiegames

GunFu Deadlands
“A Far West themed 2D shooter featuring bullet time”

Juggerdome
Great top down shooter with gritty art style.

Trap Master
Action game where you play a monster defending your crypt from explorers.

Vector Conflict: The Siege
A 3D Vector based shooter where you control a turret defending against waves of enemies

Wavives
Surreal arena shooter

Mamono Slayer
Though the hero in Skipmore’s Mamono Slayer may wield a sword, the game is essentially a collection of lock and key puzzles designed to prevent the player from finding the legendary blade that will save the kingdom.-Indiegames

Absence
Created by Selfdefiant, creator of Kidnapped by Aliens, Absence is a fun, quick little escape from an abandoned building that may be haunted.- JayisGames

A Dralien Day

Escape from the Pumpkin Room
Halloween themed escape the room game

Grave Shift 2: The Sewers
Nicely done isometric exploration game in vein of Knight’s Lore

Gretel and Hansel
Gretel and Hansel is a short point and click adventure loosely based in the world of Hansel and Gretel.-Indiegames

Small World
Beautiful platform exploration game

Bullets of a Revolver
Bullets of a Revolver is a fighting game for the most part, but also has dodging, dueling and dancing minigames thrown in from time to time.-Indiegames

Dragon Age Journeys
Full blown polished browser RPG.

Realms of Quest III
Ultra old school classic cRPG made for for the Commodore VIC-20

Bloons Tower Defense 4

Heroes of Gaia
Browser based full blown Heroes of Might and Magic clone with beautiful production values

2009 GAMES

Island Realms
Island Realms is definitely on the challenging side, with comparatively long and complex levels right from the beginning. Interestingly enough, the game is another example of the successful approach of the casual and the hardcore gaming market. The trial version should suffice to assure whether the game is to your taste or not, but especially those of you who already liked the old classic The Settlers will absolutely adore Island Realms.- 8.0 from Gamezebo

Gardenscapes
I’ve been working through many hidden object games lately so I have plenty of recent titles with which to compare this one, and Gardenscapes is easily one of my current favorites. I just wish it lasted a little longer.- 8.0 from Gamezebo

PuppetShow: Mystery of Joyville
PuppetShow: Mystery of Joyville is as masterfully constructed as one of its mechanical puppets, creating an atmosphere of dread and foreboding with just a few journal entries and cleverly staged scenes. Its dark tale is perfect for Halloween, and leaves the door wide open for a sequel that will hopefully be coming sooner rather than later. It’s a bit on the short side, unfortunately, but if you enjoy all things spooky and creepy, you’re sure to love every minute you spend in Joyville. - 8.0 from Gamezebo

Campfire Legends: The Hookman
There is some good news for those who want more though: Campfire Legends: The Hookman is the first of an upcoming trilogy. With a stunning soundtrack, gorgeous artwork, handmade environments, and memorable gameplay, this is an outstanding title. The most amazing thing about this game? This is the very first hidden object title created and developed by GameHouse Studio Eindhoven (the Netherlands-based studio formerly known as Zylom). One can only hope there’s more where that came from, but prospects look promising.- 9.0 from Gamezebo

Romance of Rome
Romance of Rome is one of the most challenging hidden object games you’ll ever play, but not in a cheap or aggravating way. I wish there had been more strategy to gaining status – you simply buy every item in the store at the end of the chapter – but overall it’s still a fun and rewarding experience.- 8.0 from Gamezebo

Jojo’s Fashion Show World Tour
In a nutshell, Jojo’s Fashion Show World Tour is incredibly cool. It’s impossible to put down, with great production values and a completely engaging fashion theme. If you’re looking for a time management game with real fashion and lots of excitement, this is one game you shouldn’t miss. - 8.0 from Gamezebo

Gridrunner Revolution
A number of things make Gridrunner Revolution stand out against the typical arcade shooter: the distinctive graphics and sound, bouncing off enemies to avoid dying, switching ship types, and the exaggerated use of sheep.(…)Gridrunner Revolution is actually pretty different from Gridrunner++ (I downloaded the demo), although it uses some of the same sound effects, and doesn’t suffer from sequel syndrome. The graphics and sound are trippy, and although they can negatively impact the gameplay, they do make for a distinctive look and feel. Fans of arcade shooters will find an approachable and unique game made so by several distinctive features.- 7.5 from OutofEight website

Grappling Hook
Indie first-person puzzler

Fatale
New indie art game from makers of Path and Graveyard

NBA 2K10
With solid, fast paced gameplay and an excellent presentation that’s easily the best the series has ever had, NBA 2K10 continues its strong pedigree of great basketball. While the presentation holds down the fort, the inclusion of the NBA Today and My Player modes, as well as the addition of the developmental leagues make an already good title even better.- 7.9 from IGN

MODS

Return to Pacific Assault for Men of War
Pacific theatre based campaign

DarkMod for Doom 3
Amazing singleplayer stealth mod that successfully recreates Thief gameplay in modern engine.

Terraland for Neverwinter Nights
“Terraland is a high-end 3D roleplay adventure game using the highly acclaimed Neverwinter Nights engine that helps Informatics students develop strategic thinking and problem solving skills. It introduces conceptually difficult computing concepts, such as sorting, functions and recursion by presenting the student with interactive challenges and activities relative to the subject matter”

Norman Invasion for Rome: Total War with Barbarian Invasion add-on
” Norman Invasion starts in the year AD 1066. William, Duke of Normandy, has landed his troops at Pevensey bay and King Harold II of England has just arrived at Hastings, fresh from victory at Stamford Bridge, to hurl the Normans back into the English Channel.As the player you can choose to take up the Fighting Man banner of Harold and defend your shores against the Norman dogs, or you can – if you really feel the need! – take up the Papal Banner of William “le Batard” and put the English firmly under the Norman yoke. You can also play as one of the three minor factions – the Welsh, Norse or Scots. “

Brotherhood of Shadow: Solomon’s Revenge for Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
Large singleplayer mod.

FREEWARE

Addicsjon
Addicsjon is another experimental project by the developer of G-E-N-E-R-I-C and FallOver, where you are in control of a drug addict who automatically tries to collect any pills he sees. Your objective is basically to guide him towards the white flag in each of the five levels included, although that can prove to be difficult as the protagonist doesn’t really feel like cooperating with the player at all.- Indiegames

Angry Gorilla Machine Monsters
Quirky little shump

Cave Chaos
A nifty little platform game from Nitrome

Evidence of Everything Exploding
Surreal action game where you navigate around press articles and everything you touch explodes to reveal new bits of information. It’s hard to explain, you simply have to play it yourself.

Graveyard Shift
Rail shooter from Nitrome

Hell Is Other People
Hell Is Other People is an ‘asynchronously multiplayer’ according to creator George Buckenham. The path that each player takes is recorded and future players are then pitted against their recordings.This means that no two games are the same. It also means you are technically playing against humans – albeit humans who aren’t actually aiming at you. It’s a beautiful idea which starts off pretty easy and soon develops into a full-on war. Try taking on 15 ghosts at the same time. Chaos.- Indiegames

In Another Château
Physics based puzzle platformer.

Miami Shark
Miami Shark is all about causing destruction by leaping out of the water and eating men, women, children, swans, boats, helicopters, planes and space shuttles (amongst other things).-Indiegames

Miner 2049er Again
Great remake of classic Manic Miner.

RedRive
In RedRive you destroy enemies by drawing a rectangle around them, with the size of the shape that can be drawn determined by a gauge shown at the bottom of the screen. The smaller the rectangle used to take out enemy ships, the higher the score multiplier will be- Indiegames

Robin the Archer in Pixeland
Retro platformer

Spectro Destroyer
Action game based around ricocheting bullets

The Tickler
Arena-based action game

Cuber
Cute little physic puzzler.

Legend of the Golden Mask
High quality hidden object game.

Magnello
Magnello involves electricity and lots of magnets. The aim is to guide a magnetic ball through a series of challenging courses and into the electric hole at the end.- Indiegames

Alien Assault
Space-Hulk inspired turn-based tactical wargame that actually started as straight Space Hulk conversion, but was modified to avoid legal troubles with Games Workshop

SLOTBAHN

Asylum 626
FMV horror adventure game

Endless Anesthesia
Spooky escape the room game.

Intruder
Short, but surprisingly spooky horror adventure game

Submachine 6: The Edge
A new instalment in classic escape game series.

Talk about mixed emotions.

The past few years have been really incredible for fans of simulation genre, a genre once all but extinct is now enjoying a resurgence in all it’s sub categories. I might get into it in a more detailed way later on (it’s too big and too glorious to fit as a side note in this rant), but for now let’s stick to recent news:

Members of Flight Simulator’s ACES team are back with a new studio

Microsoft closing down ACES studio was a huge blow for both sim gamers and pcgaming community as a whole. It marked the end of the longest running simulation franchise as well as the end of Microsoft as PC games publisher. Of course even with Flight Simulator being dead there was still X-Plane to play and the add-on for Flight Simulator kept on coming. Still, nobody can deny that future looked a bit grim. Not anymore though! Just like with other subgenres where new teams started to provide fans what they’ve been starving for, the same is now happening to civilian flight sim subgenre. First Aerosoft, one of the biggest developers of Flight Simulator add-ons has revealed that they are seriously investigating the development of a new simulator, directly aimed at replacing FSX and now ex ACES guys are back with new studio which of course is working on new simulators.
Rick Selby, who was a Creative Director at ACES wrote that ““If you love simulations, the news is going to get better and better” and I don’t think anyone can disagree with that statement.

Mad Otter Games has acquired all Red Baron 1-3 rights

The last couple months have been simply incredible for fans of WWI flight simulators. The last good game of this type (Red Baron 3D) was released in 1998 and for eleven years fans of this genre survived on this game alone, modding the hell out of it to create something that’s easily one of the most impressive cases of fans keeping the game and genre on life support all by themselves. And after eleven years came 2009, which first saw the release of Over Flander Fields Phase 3, a WWI add-on to Combat Flight Simulator 3 (the game is mediocre at best, but the add-on is so good it’s worth buying it just for it). It started as a mod, but phase 3 went commercial and delivered something truly spectacular. Then we saw the release of Rise of Flight, a great brand new WWI flight sim. After so many years fans could actually choose between new games from their beloved genre (although every fan of simulation genre, not just WWI ones should buy both of them anyway ).
The good news just kept on coming though. First guys from Red Baron team at Dynamix got back together to form Mad Otter games and started to work on Ace of Aces, a WWI arcade sim for Instant Action’s browser gaming system. And recently the same company managed to acquire all rights to Red Baron franchise. This resulted in all three Red Baron games getting re-released on GoodOldGames and we can expect a new Red Baron game somewhere in the future too.
Eleven years of starvation followed by months of feasting and it looks like the chefs aren’t done yet, so unbuckle your belts guys
One thing I really like about ActivisionBlizzard as opposed to Sierra is that they’re willing to sell their old IPs, so we’ll be seeing the return of old beloved PC franchises in the future, something that was impossible with Sierra, which prefered to sit down on the IPs despite having no intention to actually use them.
Rights to Evil Genius, Ground Control and Empire Earth were purchased by Rebellion, GarageGames bought Tribes IP and now Mad Otter has Red Baron. Do I dare to hope Jane Jansen might be able to get Gabriel Knight rights back?

Of course as Rocky Balboa said the world ain’t all sunshine and rainbows, so we had to get this bombshell dropped on us:

No dedicated servers and mod support for Modern Warfare 2

P2P and no user modifications on servers essentially spell doom for any form of clan gaming or even more… for  any dedicated long lasting online community for PC version of Modern Warfare 2. I can’t really understand why would Infinity Ward do that. Especially since MW2 runs on updated MW code, so recreating the system from CoD4 wouldn’t be extremely easy, while introducing this P2P nightmare surely took a lot more time and effort.
So now not only do we PC gamers get no collector’s edition, but also we’ll be forced to suffer through laggy P2P, get over a much higher than normal game price, but they also expect us to accept small player limits, no mods, no clan gaming etc Is there any reason to switch from Call of Duty 4 to Modern Warfare 2? For PC gamers I don’t think there’s any to be honest and this will definitely cause a lot lower sales for PC version.

The less hardcore PC gamers might not care enough to stop themselves from buying the game, but they only bring the initial sale numbers. PC games tend to obtained their sale numbers in long term and CoD has been loosing more and more PC sales with each new entry. World at War already is far less popular than CoD2 is and with broken MP there’s little reason to buying MW2 aside from singleplayer and I fear to many gamers MW2’s singleplayer campaign will be only worth pirating, instead of purchasing
Previous CoD games reached their PC sales through years, by having huge and very active online community that lasted for a very long time, as it is now…MW2 looks like it will die out pretty soon. I just don’t see MW2 aproaching sale numbers previous Call of Duty games (at least those made by Infinity Ward) had on PC. What’s sad is that if this turns out to be true I can bet somebody from IW will come out and start to blame piracy for this.

Personally I’m not a big fan of CoD, I’m more of a tactical shooters person and the most fun I had with CoD4 was when Insurgency was down for few days and it’s community switched temporary to CoD4 on hardcore mode. I have my Insurgency and now Arma 2. I spice it up with NeoTokyo and American Army 3 and I’m waiting for Red Orchestra 2. But what will other non-tactical gamers do? Will you stick to CoD2, CoD4 and Counterstrike? Will you get into Battlefield Bad Company 2 instead of MW2?

2009 GAMES

Paradise Beach
Paradise Beach is a must-have for building simulation fans who are longing for a real challenge, while it is probably a no-go for people who prefer less complex games where it is not absolutely vague what you have to do to proceed in the game. Besides and certainly of major importance is the fact that the game is not a simple copy of an already existing game, but rather unique enough to provide an alternative and interesting gaming experience.- 8.0 from Gamezebo

Widget TD
Overall, Widget TD is an amusing diversion. It has plenty of replay value (level editor, share custom levels with others via the interwebs, etc), and it’s reasonably challenging.- 7.0 from Gametunnel

Dawn of War II – Chaos Rising
First add-on (concentrating on armies of Chaos) to Dawn of War (9.0) from IGN

With Fire and Sword
A Mount and Blade spin-off RPG set in Poland during the 17th Century.

3 Cards to Dead Time
Sequel to an adventure game that scored 8.0 at Adventuregamers

BumbleTales
That’s really what it comes down to in BumbleTales – the loveable, bulbous Bumbles themselves. BumbleTales’ gameplay isn’t significantly different from any other match-three game you’ve ever tried, but its cast of characters are so charming and endearing that you’ll simply enjoy having them around.- 8.0 from Gamezebo

Vampire Saga: Pandora’s Box
Vampire Saga: Pandora’s Box is among the few games where you think you know what’s going to happen before the game pitches you a very sharp twist, and one of the few that pulls off an ending that really leaves you speechless and wondering what’s going to happen next. Combine that with unique environments and suspense, and you’ve got your money’s worth.- 8.0 from Gamezebo

Zuma’s Revenge
Did you enjoy Zuma? Of course you did, and you’ll enjoy Zuma’s Revenge; just don’t expect a reinvention of the wheel. And if you haven’t played Zuma: welcome to our planet. Can I interest you in a fun match-three game?- 8.0 from IGN

Age of Oracles: Tara’s Journey
Age of Oracles: Tara’s Journey is a long, gorgeous, well-crafted adventure, with beautifully-constructed hidden object levels and creative puzzles. It can feel a bit repetitious at times, but it should please any hidden object fan.- 8.0 from Gamezebo

Gemini Lost
Gemini Lost can be dangerously addictive, though there isn’t much reason to return to it once you’ve completed the game. That said, there are scores of tasks to accomplish that truly make you feel like the hard work you’ll pour into keeping your townspeople alive and well is worth the effort. Ultimately, this is what will keep you coming back until the job is done.- 8.0 from Gamezebo

Kitchen Brigade
Kitchen Brigade has any faults, it’s that we’ve seen it all before. We’ve played kitchen management and clicking minigames. However, Kitchen Brigade manages to put them together into something genuinely fresh and fun. If you’re into time management, then step into the kitchen and get cooking!- 8.0 from Gamezebo

Zombie Driver
Car combat game from the team that made D.I.P.R.I.P mod for HL2

Tales of Monkey Island, Episode 3: Lair of the Leviathan
Telltale seems to have found the right mix of talent and franchise in Tales of Monkey Island. The characters and setting give the developers a chance to combine the broad humor of Sam and Max with the slightly more grounded feel of the Wallace and Gromit games. The jokes are funny, the puzzles are challenging and both arise out of the overall story, which is genuinely interesting. It might be a bit hard to pick up the odd episode here or there, so the season actually requires a bigger investment than the others, but it’s well worth i- 8.0 from IGN

Batman: Arkham Asylum
Batman: Arkham Asylum is the greatest comic book videogame of all time. This is an adult Dark Knight story that is well-told, packs some truly fun gameplay elements, has topnotch voice talent, and feel like it’s part of Batman canon.(…)Rocksteady nailed what Batman is supposed to feel like. Fans, rejoice.- from IGN

Red Faction: Guerrilla
While the game may not do everything right, it’s your best bet for free-form demolition and unpretentious entertainment.- 8.0 from IGN

2010 GAMES

Sins of a Solar Empire: Diplomacy
Second and last mini expansion.

Gamelet
Twisted indie retelling of Hamelet

Shades of Violet: Episode 1 – Tale of the Clockwork Princess
Indie steampunk adventure game

Tactical Intervention
New tactical FPS from creator of Counterstrike

The Settlers 7: Paths to a Kingdom

Villagers and Heroes
Action-rpg from Mad Otter games, a small indie company made of Dynamix veterans, headed by Damon Slye(co-founder of Dynamix and lead designer of Aces of the Pacific, Aces Over Europe, Red Baron and A-10 Tank Killer) who previously released Ace of Aces on Instant Action

MODS

Headcrab Mod for Counter-Strike: Source
“Headcrab Mod is a cooperative mod where a survivor squad of combines soldiers is attacked by a horde of headcrabs who is leaded by a giant boss headcrab !”

GTA Night Of The Living Dead for Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
“Based on George A Romero’s original cult classic”

Korsakovia for Half-Life 2
“Korsakovia is a new experimental mod by the makers of Dear Esther. It’s a survival horror about delusion, paranoia and the end of the world.”

Hazard: The Journey Of Life for Unreal Tournament 3
Abstract puzzle mod

Dune Wars for Civilization IV
Mod based on Frank Herbert’s epic Dune saga

Invasio Barbarorvm: Flagellvm Dei – Beyond Roman Glory III for Rome: Total War
“Featuring two campaigns: 463AD on the decline and the eventual collapse of the Roman Empire in the West; and 432 AD with the Huns on the outskirts of the Empire, and about to conquer the world. Also includes RESTITUTIO IUSTINIANI (Justinian Campaign) as an add-on provincial campaign, with Justinian attempting to reconquer the west.»”

X-Wing Alliance: The Outer Rim Territories for Freelancer
Star Wars mod with X-Wing Alliance-like level of realism (as opossed to vanilla Freelancer)

Targa Florio for Grand Prix Legends
“The much anticipated Targa Florio for Grand Prix Legends has been released, adding the the world’s longest race track to the historical racing simulation. Located on the Italian Island of Sicily, the 72 kilometer track is one of the most epic motorsport race tracks ever used. As safety concerns became an influence in international motorsports, the Targa Florio sports car race lost its world championship status and is still run as an Italian rallye today.”

FREEWARE

Crush the Castle: Players Pack
Collection of new levels.

Finwick
Great platformer

Icycle

Iron Turtle
Platformer

Journey to the Center of the Earth

Nebula
Another great arcade game from Nitrome

Protonaut
Physics-driven puzzle platformer

RunMan: Race Around the World.
Fantastic platformer.

Time Fcuk
Puzzle platformer

Clockwords
Great typing game

Copy Cat: A Painter’s Puzzle
Unique puzzle game where your goal is to copy the given image for each level onto a canvas.

Huje Tower
World of Goo-like bridge building game

Jungle Magic
Match-3 puzzler

A Mazing Monk
Rotating puzzle game

MagnetiZR
Physics puzzler centred around creating magnetic fields

Magnets
Puzzle game where you use magnets to manipulate the trajectory of a bullet around obstacles.

Abuba The Alien
Cartoonish adventure game

Alice is Dead – Episode 1

Awakener
Nice one room adventure game

Back to the Cubeture Era 1
Quirky isometric adventure game

Dead Frontier: Outbreak
Zombie-themed Choose-your-own-adventure type of game.

Escape from the Meeting Room
Escape the room game.

The Glean of Glob
Surreal adventure game which was initially created as an interactive art installation for Jerwood Space Gallery in London

Strange Adventures In Infinite Space

Make It Good
Noir detective interactive fiction.

Strawberry Cafe Escape
Escape the room game.

Titanium Chef
Fun humoristic adventure game with great production values

Tortuga 3
Pirate themed adventure game

Cake Pirate
Cute tower defense game.

2009 GAMES

Fort Zombie
Action RPG from Kerberos Productions, makers of Sword of the Stars(7.7 from IGN)

Tales of Monkey Island Chapter 2: The Siege of Spinner Cay
Telltale has another solid outing in this episode, and it’s cool to see the story start to come together. Plus, the next episode looks to have a completely cool and unexpected setting, so we’re looking forward to seeing where this all goes.- 7.9 from IGN

Pizza Morgana: Episode 1 – Monsters & Manipulations in the Magical Forest
Whilst a lack of polish lets it down occasionally, Pizza Morgana’s debut episode still manages to be a magical little adventure which shows great promise for this episodic series. - 7.0 from Adventuregamers

Nancy Drew: Ransom of the Seven Ships
Like a working vacation without the sunburn, Ransom of the Seven Ships is a solid entry in the series thanks to a well-developed story with a wide variety of puzzles.- 7.0 from Adventuregamers

Nancy Drew Dossier: Resorting to Danger
Other than one difficult puzzle, Resorting to Danger! keeps all the great features of the first title and builds on a great formula. Do no hesitate to take a trip to the spa with Nancy, but be sure to watch your back!- 9.0 from Gamezebo

Drawn: The Painted Tower
Drawn may not be the toughest adventure-oriented game out there, but it’s absolutely loaded with style and personality. This goes a long way. The magical world it pulls you into is strangely compelling, and you won’t want to leave until you’ve fully explored every inch of the tower and helped Iris escape. - 8.0 from Gamezebo

Women’s Murder Club 3: Twice in a Blue Moon
Twice in a Blue Moon provides an excellent assortment of hidden object searching and puzzle solving, while maintaining a realistic atmosphere and some genuine tension. - 8.0 from Gamezebo

Princess Isabella: A Witch’s Curse
Princess Isabella: A Witch’s Curse is a little strange (one of the items I had to find was a “twisted neck”) and seems to have something against snakes (the game considers them “evil”), but its healthy variety of well-crafted puzzles and hidden object searches make for a challenging and creative fairy tale.- 8.0 from Gamezebo

Bad Rats
Bad Rats is a good puzzle game. While the basics of the game have been done numerous times before, triggering events using contraptions and physics, the unique rat abilities and unnecessary feline violence make the game stand ou(…)Puzzle fans should certainly check out this title for a very small monetary investment.- 7.5 from Out of Eight website

Out of the Park Baseball 10
Out of the Park Baseball 10 is not the type of baseball experience that can be enjoyed by any fan of the sport. It takes a specific type of micromanager to enjoy what the forty-dollar download brings to the table, but if you can get your head around the complex menus and grandiose management duties you’ll find an extraordinarily deep baseball simulation running under the hood. There are flaws in the AI and core design, but hardcore baseball managers and fantasy freaks should be delighted with the many intricacies of Out of the Park Baseball 10.- 8.0 from IGN

2010 GAMES

Top Race 2009
new sim by 2PEZ (makers of Turismo Carratera) running on gMotor2 engine

MODS

Airborn for Unreal Tournament 3
Incredible singleplayer action-adventure mod.

Archasis II for Unreal Tournament 3
“Archasis II is a moderately-paced first/third person shooter total conversion for UT3 set in a fantasy world of swords and magic. It features RPG-like player progression, cooperative objective-oriented gameplay, a variety of character classes, multi-path skill trees, and a hybrid of 3rd-person melee and 1st-person ranged combat.”

The Ball for Unreal Tournament 3
A singleplay action and puzzle mod.

Black Sierra for Unreal Tournament 3
A cooperative survival-horror for up to 5 players

Prometheus for Unreal Tournament 3
“Pometheus is a single player mission based co-op game in the spirit of Portal and Mirror’s Edge. You’ll be bending the laws of Einsteinian Physics by entering a Quantum State that will allow you to play the game with your past, present and future selves to accomplish your objectives.”

Sanctum for Unreal Tournament 3
“Sanctum is a first/third person tower defense game in an epic science fiction world.”

Multi Theft Auto: San Andreas for GTA: San Andreas
“An open-source software project that adds full on-line gaming support to Rockstar North’s Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas PC game”

FREEWARE
August Wind
A free roaming top down shooter

Beacon
Nice platformer.

Canabalt
Canabalt is a simple one-button action game where you are in control of a well-dressed man who can’t stop running, leaping from the top of one building to another as the city is being attacked by giant robots and futuristic-looking ships.- Indiegames

Deep
Deep is an intriguing hybrid game that’s friendly to a variety of playing styles. You control a single cell-like critter who can move and shoot in any direction, but you’re also in charge of a thriving colony of warriors who want nothing more than to eliminate the enemy. Play it like a shooter, play it like a strategy game, or play it like a little bit of both. Either way, it’s an interesting dive under the sea.-JayisGames

Higher
Charming little action game where you collect baloons to make your house float higher and higher, while avoiding bombs and collecting coins.

Para Cute
In this action game you control a teddy bear who parachutes into a cavern. Your goal is to collect as many hearts as possible while avoiding crashing

Mechanaught
Action platformer with retro graphics

Pierre: Insanity Inspired
Pierre: Insanity Inspired tells the story of a cat with an eye for art, who has to run around circular platforms and acquire items to finish his masterpiece. Items can only be collected when they align with the right symbols on the platform, indicated by a bright glow around it. You lose health whenever you grab an item while standing over the wrong sector, or when you touch a spiky ball by accident.-Indiegames

Refuge
noonat’s Refuge is sort of a physics-based Missile Command game created for the recent Ludum Dare competition, where players have to defend their city from an alien invasion with the help of a turret that fires only one bullet at a time.-Indiegames

Rock Warrior
A short arcade game created by Jetro Lauha (of Dismount series fame) for the Ludum Dare 15 competition, in which you have to pilot a ship inside a cave and mine for every piece of gold that you can find embedded between the rocks.-Indiegames

Solar Plexus
Solar Plexus is a puzzle platformer created by the developer of the Noitu Love series, where you are in control of a female protagonist sent to investigate the sudden communication silence from a certain space colony. Most of the challenges in the game require the player to manipulate blocks using the mouse and navigate around obstacles placed deliberately to hinder their progress forward.-Indiegames

Station 38
Station 38 is a mouse-based action game where you are in control of a robot that can only jump in short bursts. Players have to be very careful while navigating around tight corridors, as our robotic friend tends to lose hull integrity very quickly after falling from a great height or colliding with a wall at high speed.-Indiegames

Time Donkey
Insane action puzzler based around time travel and using “past versions” of your donkey to reach your objectives.

Vox Populi, Vox Dei
Extremely brutal (and extremely fun too) werewolf action game

Waker
Waker is a puzzle platformer in which the player has to build their own platforms to reach the goal. To create a new path, you must first reach a magical orb and grab it with the action button. You can then control how the platform is to be drawn by moving the creature around the screen.-Indiegames

The Walls are Not Cheese
The Walls are Not Cheese is a prototype created by Sparky for the recent Ludum Dare competition, where you are in control of a debris-shooting square that has to destroy the bluish shape located at the end of each level. -Indiegames

99 Bricks: The Legend of Garry
A mix of tetris and tower building puzzler

Civiballs 2

Guardian Rock
Fun sliding blocks puzzler

On The Edge
A puzzler where your goal is to move the red block onto the red tile, by removing all other tiles.

OrThought
3D blocks pushing puzzle game

The Wizard’s Notebook
“A word based puzzle game which uses visual riddles. Solve the visual riddles by typing in words and watch as they transform into what the word describes. For example, the word “water” will act as if it were water.”

78641 – A Targ Adventure
Crazy humorous adventure game

Another Small Favor

Alchemia
Beautifull Samorost-like adventure game

Magical Sphere Escape
Polished escape the room game

Paul Moose In Space World
Fantastic adventure game with unique graphics

U-Sensor
Escape the room game

Metalix RPG
SF Roguelike like RPG

Trapdoor Below
Simple rougelike

Heat Rush

Battalion: Arena
Cartoonish turn-based wargame

Silver Maze
Tower defense game

2009 GAMES

Operation Barbarossa – The Struggle for Russia
New WWII wargame in vein of Panzer General from Matrix Games.

Europa Universalis III: Heir to the Throne
Third add-on to a grand strategy game which scored 8.5 from IGN

East India Company: Privateer
Expansion pack to trading game which scored 7.7 from IGN

City Sights: Hello, Seattle!
Hello, Seattle! may seem like it’s a short game, but that’s only because you’ll find it so hard to stop playing it. It’s a wonderful take on the genre, and an enjoyable tour of a beautiful city, too. The achievements add an extra level of challenge for pros who want to test their hidden object might, but all hidden object game fans will enjoy this one.- 9.0 from Gamezebo

Coconut Queen
Coconut Queen is an ambitious, humorous and wonderful game, which is worth a try for every gamer, no matter of his or her general preferences. The game scores top grades in story, graphics, length, variety, innovation and the level of difficulty, and there is not much more anyone can ask for. Visit the lovely, yet slightly chaotic island and meet the angry monkey today!- 9.0 from Gamezebo

QuantZ
QuantZ’s creative gameplay and fresh twist on the match-three puzzle genre have the potential to keep you locked in its grasp for quite some time. With three distinctly different ways to play, there’s a lot of varied content to dig into. It also boasts an impressively stylish and well-composed presentational flair that goes far above and beyond the call of duty. Prepare for many hours of marble bursting fun.- 8.0 from Gamezebo

3Tones
3Tones is a marvelous breath of fresh air in a well-worn genre. Whether you’re a fan of music or of great puzzle games, don’t turn a deaf ear to this one.- 8.0 from Gamezebo

Aveyond: Gates of Night
Lord of Twilight was a decent introduction to the episodic format, but with Gates of Night the series really feels like it’s hit its stride. There were some lose ends in Lord of Twilight, like quests that couldn’t be complete, and areas that were visible but couldn’t be accessed, that Gates of Night takes care of. The result is a more satisfying and full experience.- 8.0 from Gamezebo

Football Manager 2010
New entry in the best sport manager series ever made.

Swarm Racer 3000

Twin Sector
Action-adventure based on physical envioremental interaction

2010 GAMES

Guild Wars 2
Original Guild Wars scored 9.0 at IGN

M.U.D TV
Humoristic managment game from Realmforge Studios, makers of Ceville (9.0 from IGN)

Napoleon: Total War
Follow up to Empire: Total War (9.5 from IGN)

LEGO Universe
MMO developed by NetDevil, who’s portofilo includes two other MMOs: Jumpgate(7.8 from IGN) and Auto Assault (7.5 from IGN)

World of Warcraft: Cataclysm
Third add-on to biggest MMORPG (the original WoW scored, it’s first add-on got and the second one was rated )

Age of Conan: Rise of the Godslayer
First add-on to MMORPG that got 7.8 from IGN

The Book of Unwritten Tales: the cattle’s chronicle.
Prequel to humoristic adventure game that scored 90% on Adventure-treff, 91% at Adventurecorner.de and 85% from Gamestar, making it one of highest rated adventure games in germany in years)

ARMA 2: Operation Arrowhead
Standalone expansion pack

DCS: A-10C Warthog

Silent Hunter V
Both Silent Hunter 3 and Silent Hunter 4 received 8.8 from IGN.

Ship Simulator 2010: Extremes

MODS

Horde VS Legion for Savage 2: A Tortured Soul
“Horde VS Legion takes elements from DotA and puts them into the World of Savage 2″

Scandinavia mod for Mount and Blade
THe mod takes place in Sweden 1700 – 1721, with Norway, Denmark, Finland and Sami Empire as in game factions.

Star Trek Vs. Star Wars for Galactic Civilizations II with both add-ons

300 Warlords of Sparta v1.0 for Rome: Total War with Alexander add-on
“‘300′ Warlords of Sparta’ is a modification for ‘Rome: Total War – Alexander’. Inspired by the legend of Leonidas and the brave 300. You can control a ‘Spartan’ led Greek alliance in a war to liberate Greece, or bring the children of Hellas to heel leading the dark forces of the Persian Empire!”

Amazon: Total War v3.0 for Rome: Total War
“ATW features three new Amazon factions, that of Amazonia, their rivals New Amazonia, and the Gorgons. It includes a new culture for them, with new units, generals, retinue members, and traits specifically for them.”

FREEWARE

Boom
Boom is a low-res remake of id Software’s breakout FPS, rendered in 3D using the Game Boy’s limited four colour palette for all in-game graphics.- Indiegames

Bullfist
The aim of Bullfist is to acquire as many points as you can in under one minute. This means guiding a herd of bulls, gathering their wounded mates, and destroying everything in their path before time runs out.- Indiegames

Cube Colossus
A lovingly polished shmup created by Fandrey and Azrael (who have recently formed a dev team together called Lucidrine). It tells the story of a girl’s search for her twin sister, battling her way through hordes of killer Cubes.- Indiegames

Fig. 8
Fig. 8 is a short arcade game by Intuition Games in which you control a bike, scoring points and navigating around drawings of technical diagrams on white space. - Indiegames

GearToyGear
3D tunnel shooter from Kenta Cho

Hans Hans the Biking Viking: Leaving Loki’s Lockup
Awesome puzzle platformer with great production values

GOBTRON
“Control the legendary GOBTRON and eat all your opponents to survive through time!”

Jirosum
Jirosum is a 2D horizontal shooter themed around the use of mathematics to inflict damage on enemies, created by Logan Ames as his entry for TIGSource’s Adult/Educational Competition. How it works is that you can absorb enemies with different numeric values up to a set limit, then fire a projectile that deducts the health of every enemy it touches until the number depletes to zero.- Indiegames

Maya Kai
Horizontal shump

Max Damage
Game about causing as much damage as possible with your cannon.

Medieval Rampage 2
Medieval fantasy arena shooter

Ninjufo
The objective in Ninjufo is to pilot a UFO craft around a maze and collect fifty crates with top secret information contained inside them.- Indiegames

Pirate Golf Adventure

Rockitty\
Another great action game from Nitrome

Scrapp
Colorful abstract shump

Tower of Heaven
Great atmospheric platformer.

Why
Why is a short arcade game created by Mike Inel, where the objective is to change the color of circles from black to white by moving the cursor over them. There are ten different endings to discover, and you can even use your mouse to interact with some of the cutscenes.- Indiegames

Window Hater
The objective of the game is to break all windows in each area before time runs out, simply by heating them up with your flamethrower until they shatter into hundreds of tiny glass fragments.- Indiegames

Little Red Riding Hood: A Post Apocalyptic Adventure
Amazing art and atmosphere manage to turn “spot the difference” game into something truly special

Mechanism
A physic puzzle game in vein of Splitter or Ice Breaker, where you goal is to lead a mechanical ball into certain point by cutting the objects in the level.

Multitas
Multitask is a test of just how well your brain can cope with multiple dilemmas dotted around the screen. Starting with a single task, more jobs are added one by one until you become completely overwhelmed.- Indiegames

Backdoor Man
A NSFW adventure game where you play a male escort.

Boxed Inn: Panic Room
Room escape game

Escape From The Underground Space
An other excellent escape game from Tesshi-e

Finding My Heart
Cute little humorous romance adventure game

Silent Conversation
NOw this is hard to explain. It plays like a platformer, only instead of platforms you’re running through sentences from short stories, trying to touch and “light up” as many words as possible. It’s unique, fascinating and simply must try for anyone.

Broken Brothers
Broken Brothers is Michael Todd’s entry for the latest Experimental Gameplay Project. It’s an RTS title with the tagline ‘Gather, Survive, Expand, Unlock’. Very challenging gameplay ahoy!Beginning with ‘Malakai’, who is basically your Headquarters, the idea is to gather ‘hope’ via Harvester units, then use this hope to build attacking units like tanks and bombers. Once your army is prepared, it’s time to explore the world, destroying the constant threat from evil bug creature thingies and finding your brothers.- Indiegames

Colony
An unique take on RTS genre

Elements
Elements is pretty much the best free fantasy card game out there.- Indiegames

Necronomicon
A single player trading card game based on Lovecraft’s works

2009 GAMES

King Arthur
An empire-building strategy game set in a medieval, mystical Britain.

SIMS 3: World Adventures

Time Gentlemen, Please!
Fat men in suits keep telling us that the PC is dying; grandfathers scare nippers on their knees with tales of adventure games emerging from their crypts in the twilight hours to say “boo”. However, as Time Gentlemen, Please! and a million in-form games (Violet, Slouching Towards Bedlam, etc.) prove, big publishers can’t produce the best adventures and scripts – even the Telltale titles are clunky and formulaic compared to the anarchistic invention of games like this and the Discworld. We think it’s intelligent, witty, absurd, and, at GBP 2.99 we heartily recommend it. And, for once, it’s not because we’re enormously corrupt.- 9.0 from Eurogamer

Big Brain Wolf
This game will entertain some people, and drive others absolutely insane. Don’t let it deceive you with its looks: Big Brain Wolf is one tough cookie. That being said, don’t let the challenge scare you, either. It’s a fun and engaging game, and it’s one of the few games that will make you work some brain cells as you play.- 8.0 from GameTunnel

Wallace and Gromit’s Grand Adventures: Episode 4 – The Bogey Man
With a few rough spots and a few strokes of genius, The Bogey Man is the first of the Grand Adventures to pose any real challenge, though instead of being a series-ending spectacular, it’s mainly par for the course.- 7.0 from Adventuregamers

Edna & Harvey: The Breakout
An english version of one of best german adventure games of 2008 (it gathered 84% average of scores from german sites and magazines, including 83% at Adventure-Treff and 87% at Adventurecorner)

Burger Shop 2
It’s safe to say that if you liked Burger Shop, you’re going to love Burger Shop 2. The fast-paced assembly-line time management game is just as fun as the original and, like any good sequel, expands on the formula with additional levels and fun new twists like extra dishes, characters and trophies. (…)As long as you don’t mind your time management games a little on the frantic side, Burger Shop 2 is a must-download.- 9.0 from Gamezebo

Build-a-lot 4: Power Source
Altogether, we nevertheless strongly recommend Build-a-lot 4: Power Source, even if you have already played the three previous games. Despite some minor points of criticism the game still manages to deliver a top notch gaming experience, and you won’t feel like you have already played this three times before. Give it a shot and the game will provide you with easily more than twenty hours of intense gameplay and fun.- 8.0 from Gamezebo

Kelly Green: Garden Queen
All in all we highly recommend everyone to give it a try, because there is no clearer sign for a high-class game than a reviewer searching for flaws with a magnifier, yet still without success. Kelly Green: Garden Queen definitely sets a new standard when it comes to farming games, and earns high grades in every aspect that is important for a game.- 8.0 from Gamezebo

Revenge of the Titans!
Tower defense game from Puppy Games, makers of Droid Assault, Titan Attack and Ultratron.

Creeper World
Indie tower defense-rts game

Blitz 1941
MMO Tank action game with light simulation elements from the makers of Navy Fields (it was similiar MMO action game with sim elements)

Yankee Air Pirate 2
A sim that recreates actual missions from Air War in Southeast Asia, designed by people who actualy flew in those missions.

Evochron Legends

Lunnye Devitsy
Lunnye is a mystery/puzzle platformer.

Super Laser Racer
Super Laser Racer delivers exactly what I expect from a $10 game: solid, enjoyable core gameplay. The racing is adapted well from New Star Grand Prix, easing back a bit on the difficulty to compliment the combat more effectively. The fast pace of the races works well, with turbo pads and plentiful pick-ups to dispose of those pesky enemy racers. The AI is quite competent and less robotic than before, successfully using their weapons and utilizing alternate paths along the way: they are a good foe. The quality of the AI almost makes up for the lack of a multiplayer component, but the lack of a compelling career mode makes this a more glaring omission. Every racing game needs online play, and Super Laser Racer is no exception. The points-only tournament mode borrows none of the interesting career options from other New Star games, and the only motivation to play a series of races is to unlock additional content. Even with these limitations, the appropriate low price point of Super Laser Racer makes is a good choice for fans of arcade combat games- 7.5 from Out of Eight website

Trine
Trine is great fun in single-player and it’s worth experimenting with the three-player co-op even if the game works best as a solo experience. Players are given a set of tools (three characters with unique abilities) and are presented with problems that can be solved in several ways, resulting in an adventure that feels wide open despite being relegated to a mere two dimensions. The beautiful visuals and sound bring this world to life and there is something new to discover around every corner. A lack of enemy variety, disappointing conclusion, and the wonky multiplayer keep Trine from greatness, but this is still a highly recommended puzzle platformer.- 8.2 from IGN

World of Zoo
Zoo managment game from Blue Fang, creators of Zoo Tycoon series.

2010 GAMES

Red Orchestra 2: Heroes of Stalingrad
Sequel to 8.5 WWII tactical shooter. What’s more, RO2 will singleplayer campaigns for both Russian and German sides.

Deponia
Post apocalyptic cyberpunk adventure game in 1440×900 resolution

MODS
Wing Commander Standoff Episode 5 for Wing Commander: Prophecy
The epic SP campaign comes to an end.

Stargate Mod: War Begins Public Beta for Nexus: Jupiter Indicent

Endurance Series 1.0 for rFactor
Enduracers have released the first version of their highly-anticipated Endurance Series mod for rFactor, adding some of the world’s most exciting prototypes and GT’s to rFactor.The initial version of the mod includes 11 sports car models from the Le Mans Prototype and GT classes, allowing you to relive the exciting action of series like the Le Mans Series and the FIA GT-Virtualr.net

TPSCC 3.0 for rFactor
NASCAR COT mod.

Lord of Ravenloft II for Neverwinter Nights with all add-ons

FREEWARE

Hive Rise
Free MMORTS

Nanovor
Online card game.

Boxgame
Boxgame is a puzzle platformer in which gravity is ruled by big, transparent boxes in the centre of each level. Jumping off a ledge will result in some crazy re-orientation, after which you most likely won’t be standing on the same plane anymore.-Indiegames

A Cold Heart
A Cold Heart is a short underwater-themed shooter where you play a cold-hearted mermaid, out to take the lives of ten different sea creatures by singing for them with your beautiful voice.-Indiegames

The Competitor
Fun twist on shump genre where you control the swarm of enemies and your goal is to place them in a way that will overwhelm the small little ship at the bottom of the screen.

FallOver
Physics platformer

Isabelle Poppy And Bling
Art game consisting of several mini games

Roll Roll Pirate
Action game where your goal is to roll your ball to the treasure by means of manipulating your perspective.

Sticky Situation
Sticky Situation is a shooter with an interesting concept. Both yourself and the enemy are constantly firing sticky darts at each other, and when enough darts have secured themselves firmly to a ship, the weight will become too much and said ship will fall to its doom.-Indiegames

Tasty Static
Brilliant Skyroads clone.

The Beggar
Exploration game about a hobo who got thrown out of castle and not attempts to get back in.

Pixus
The idea is to draw lines of paint across the screen which float upwards, destroying similarly coloured blocks until the level is cleared. Some blocks are concealed behind other colours, so you’ll need to eliminate them in order.- Indiegames

Bermuda Triangle Escape
Underwater adventure game with strong escape the room elements.

MagnetiBall
Physic puzzler.

Being One: Episode 2 – Bloodbath

Solitude
Quality escape the room game

The Next Floor
Great little horror game that plays like a mix of shooter and tower defense game

Cyclomaniacs

Pixel Grower
Your mouse controls the paddle with which you must collect as many falling pixels as possible. Much like certain elements in falling sand games, the pixels stick to your paddle wherever they strike it, so before you know it, you’re wielding a Christmas tree rather than a simple paddle. Your goal is quite simple: catch as many pixels as possible before your health meter runs out from letting too many pass you by.- JayisGames

Deep Chalk: Phase Three
Abstract exploration game with plenty of fun and difficult puzzles.

2009 GAMES

World War II: General Commander
World War II: General Commander does what it set out to do: provide a nice introduction to wargaming for beginning players. (…) Simply put, gamers looking for a more straightforward strategic wargame should immediately direct their attention towards World War II: General Commander.- 8.5 from Out of Eight website

Dyson
An ambient real-time strategy game with abstract visuals.The prototype freeware version was one of the finalists for 2009 IGF’s Seumas McNally Grand Prize.

Yoomurjak’s Ring
While some may not be willing to look past the lack of full localization in Yoomurjak’s Ring, the natural acting and strong filmic qualities combine with a well-written mystery to make for a lengthy, challenging, foreign-language FMV adventure.- 7.0 from Adventuregamers

Bookworm Adventures 2
PopCap is one of the most consistent developers around, and Bookworm Adventures 2 is another quality, breezy puzzle game (with RPG elements). Its sense of humor is pretty cheesy, but that just seems to add to its charm. What it lacks in serious challenge, it makes up for in length. The experience is a slow, gradual incline, tossing more and more items and tougher and tougher bad guys at you at a leisurely pace — as if it knows you’re not in any hurry to complete the game. Appropriately, digging into this adventure is like settling into a good long book.- 8.3 from IGN

Sprill and Ritchie: Adventures in Time
Sprill & Ritchie would be a welcome addition to the game collection of any HOG or adventure gamer of any age. Overall, an excellent title I hope to see more of in the future.- 8.0 from Gamezebo

Pure Hidden
Pure Hidden is a gem of a game, a seamless blending of artistic appeal and enjoyable gameplay. It may draw from the same sources as other “HOG”s, but there’s nothing else quite like it- 8.0 from Gamezebo

My Kingdom for the Princess
My Kingdom for the Princess is a really fun diversion, with easy to learn rules, yet lots of opportunities to form strategies. It offers plenty of hours of entertainment in a simple resource management framework, making it an impressive casual game.- 8.0 from Gamezebo

Adam’s Venture: Episode 1 – The Search for the Lost Garden
Archeological adventure game running on Unreal 3.0 engine

Vehicle Simulator
Vehicle Simulator is exactly what I expected: a mostly successful combination of Virtual Sailor and Micro Flight. Vehicle Simulator is not quite on the same level as big-budget flight sims, but considering the custom content angle of the game, I suspect Vehicle Simulator will grow into a more complete product as time goes on.
- 7.5 from Out of Eight website

2010 GAMES

Haunted
New aventure from Deck 13, makers of Ankh series and Jack Keane

MODS GAMES

WGSpace for Duke Nukem 3D
8 levels long SP campaign

Pressure 2 : A Cold Day in Hell for Ghost Recon with all the add-ons
Mega mod for Ghost Recon

Pulse for Half-Life
SP mod

Radiator, vol. 1 issue 2: HANDLE WITH CARE. for Half-Life 2

Research and Development for Half-Life 2
“Research and Development is a puzzle-centric mod for Half-Life 2: Episode Two featuring an unarmed player but plenty of violent mayhem.”

Calradia X – Red Planet for Mount and Blade
A mod with new setting: a quirky mix of Scifi and western conventions

I, Strahd Part II: Nosferatu for Neverwinter Nights with all expansion packs.

ZORK – Rediscovering the Great Underground Empire for Neverwinter Nights 2 with Mask of Betrayer add-on
Recreation of first Zork text adventure game.

Star Trek Enhanced Space Combat for Nexus: The Jupiter Incident
“A total conversion based upon the Star Trek universe for the tactical fleet simulator game Nexus – The Jupiter Incident. There are 10 playable races(Federation, Klingons, Romulans, Borg, Cardassians, Dominion, Breen, Species 8472, Sona and Ferengi) each with their own ships and weapons.”

Star Wars – Requiem for Sins of a Solar Empire
This mod adds two new factions into SoaSE: Alliance and Empire

Battlefleet Gothic MOD for Sins of a Solar Empire with Entrenchment mini expansion

Starship Troopers: 1st Interstellar War for Star Wars: Empire At War with Forces of Corruption add-on
Total conversion.

Commanders of War II for Men of War
MP-centric realism mod that tweaks the game, makes the battles larger, adds huge variety of units to choose from as well as ability to fight during the years 1941, 1942, 1943, 1944 and 1945, each period having its uniqueness in units

CART Factor for rFactor
A mod that brings the 1998 CART Championship season to the simulation and includes 29 cars from the 1998 CART season, all in four different configurations suited to road and oval racing complete with realistic Real-Feel compatible physics, an advanced tire model and much more.

FREEWARE

Floater
A score-based arcade game created by This is Pop, where the objective is to prod a body down the river with a stick as quickly as you can before time runs out. Since you have no direct control over the corpse, points are scored by inflicting injuries such as burns, bruises, and animal bites on it- Indiegames

Galactic Commandos
In this awesome Lost Vikings-like puzzle platformer your goal is to reach the exit with three commandos, each with different skills and abilities

The Heist 2
A game where you first plan the heist (hire people, buy guns, make a plan) and then execute it.

Kung Fu 2
The final build for Gary Gasko’s Retro Remakes 2008 Competition entry was released today, a remake loosely based on the arcade classic Spartan X (known as Kung-Fu Master in the States).-Indiegames

Pixel
Abstract shooter

Sudden Attack
English version of the popular Korean MP FPS

Twin Shot 2: Good and Evil

When Pigs Fly
When Pigs Fly tells the story of a pig who conveniently grows wings after falling down a hole and finding itself trapped inside a dark cave. Unfortunately the pair of wings are preventing a quick escape from the same entry point, so the only thing left to do is to explore the caverns and seek another way out.-Indiegames

William and Sly
Wonderful exploration-centric platformer

Knight Fall 2

Lock ‘n’ Roll
Loosely based on Poker Solitaire, the idea is to place colored dice into configurations that score the highest number of points possible. The key difference between Lock ‘n’ Roll and its various predecessors is that it has a subset of prime combos that not only score more points, but clear those dice from the board, freeing up space in which to continue making combos-JayisGames

Moonlights
Physics-based tower construction puzzler similiar to World of Goo

Saunavihta
a stylishly absurd physics puzzler where your mission is straightforward. A frothing geyser of black vapor lies somewhere in every level, and it’s up to you to send the shivering little protagonist tumbling into the miasma.- JayisGames

Seven
Seven is a short physics-based puzzler created by the developers of the popular adventure game Makibishi Comic, in which your quest is to restore balance to a strange planet by travelling to each of the seven stages and retrieving the stars found within.-Indiegames

Splitter 2
Karataev is at it again in Splitter 2, the sequel to his fiendishly addictive physics puzzler from yesteryear. The basic premise remains unchanged: your charge, a yellow smiley face with eyes eerily glued to your mouse, must make its way to the exit circle in each level one way or another. All you’ve got are whatever contraptions are lying around the level, your wits, and a cursor that can slice right through solid wood like it was string cheese- JayisGames

Warp Shot
Physics puzzler.

Zigmond III
Maze-filled puzzler

Gates of Andaron
MMORPG.

Kamyran’s Eye 2
Graphical roguelike.

Rumble Fighter

Loom Custody
Even if Loom Custody is not Place of Light’s magnum opus, it is arguably one of the better room escapes out there. While I hope that the developer’s next release will be a return to longer, more difficult games, I can’t deny this one is pretty darn good; well-crafted, good-looking and entertaining, it’s more than worth your time. Have fun!- Jayisgames

A Night To Remember
It’s your typical adventure game with an interesting and sinister tale that will take around half an hour to complete- Indiegames

Purism
Escape the room game.

Space Oddity
pace Oddity feels like a promising start to what may be an intriguing series. Creating an effective atmosphere isn’t always easy, despite the aplomb with which it’s been pulled off here, and I was left eager to find out what happened next. Fans of Mateusz Skutnik’s work won’t be disappointed, and hopefully the next installment in this eerie space adventure is right around the corner. -JayisGames

Tanaka’s Friendly Adventure
Tanaka’s Friendly Adventure is a charming little exploration game that involves gathering a group of friends to attend the titular character’s birthday party celebration. There’s no time limit to rush you into doing anything, and the adventure can be replayed as many times as you want. You can also visit your friends in a special section accessible via the main menu.

Pandemic: American Swine
A strategy game where your goal is to manage and contain a flu outbreak.

The Space Game: Missions
An upgraded version of the previous game with lenghty and entertaining singleplayer campaign

Renault Truck Racing

Football Superstars
Microtransactions based football MMO (the basic play is free though)

2009 GAMES

Artist Colony
After spending nearly a week with Artist Colony, the similarities to Virtual Villagers are merely cosmetic. This engrossing single-player game stands on its own merit and proves to be highly enjoying and gratifying twist on the simulation genre. (…)This surprisingly deep and enjoyable game is well worth your time and money, especially if you’re a fan of people simulations. The unique concept is well-designed and successfully executed, and should provide many engaging hours of fun.- 9.0 from Gamezebo

Crown of Glory: Emperor’s Edition
Overall, CoG: EE is a complex game with a lot of features that can provide you with very in-depth game play—or a high level of frustration. Gamers who don’t want a steep learning curve and desire a more graphical experience would be wise to look elsewhere. But players who enjoy methodical game play that allows them to get intimate with all details from shaping their economy to determining the best strategy for their army and navy will find themselves so absorbed in Napoleonic Europe it will be difficult to turn the game off. In the end, this game is best for veterans of Crown of Glory and for those who are willing to trade off flashy graphics for a compelling and intricate game that can provide the user with a rewarding finish.- 7.9- from Armchair General

Conquest! Medieval Realms
Scared by hardcore wargames? Well, Conquest! Medieval Realms might be just the game for you! Although the tutorial and online manual leave a lot to be desired, the game is easy to learn thanks to straightforward, non-random combat and simple unit relationships. The random map generator is excellent, the campaigns are long, and the editors that allow you to create custom scenarios and campaigns in addition to sculpted battlefields.(…)Conquest! is a bit less impressive overall than I initially thought because of the lack of total originality. Nevertheless, Conquest! Medieval Realms is still quite fun for novice strategy fans and different enough to warrant a purchase. – 7.5 from Out of Eight website

World Supremacy
Turn based “conquer the world” grand strategy game from Malfador Machinations, makers of Space Empires series.

Making History II: The War of the World for
Sequel to turn based WWII wargame that scored 7 on IGN and 7.5 at OutofEight.

Heroes of Newerth
DOTA-inspired game from makers of Savage 2

G.H.O.S.T. Chronicles: Phantom of the Renaissance
Phantom of the Renaissance Faire is a beautifully done, smart game that masterfully accommodates a variety of skill levels and is still fun even on your second playthrough. (If you played on the easier setting the first time, switch to the harder version for your second try. It’s a completely different experience.) Hunting down the hint fairies is a fun mini-game by itself – you’ll find yourself revisiting scenes just to track down the fairy you missed, whether you actually need her help or not. If you’re looking for just the right mixture of puzzles and hidden objects, this is the game for you.- 8.0 from Gamezebo

Magic Encyclopedia: Moon Light
Shortcomings aside, this game should satiate fans of HOGs and adventure games. If you’re a fan of the series then you most certainly won’t be disappointed in this sequel – and be sure to keep a few extra bucks in your pocket for the fall when the third game in this franchise will be available.- 8.0 from Gamezebo

ArcMagi
As developer himself put it: “I like to think of it as a true PC fighting game. Dynamic and up-to-the-point, but very strategic, controlled by mouse and with strong character development elements.”

Greed
SF action RPG from Clockstone, makers of Avencast

Alganon
Hardcore MMORPG from guys who previously did the cult classics like Mordor: The Depths of Dejenol and Demise: Rise of the Ku’tan

Sacred 2: Ice & Blood announced
Add-on to 7.5 (at IGN) hack and slash RPG

Crystal Cave
Puzzler from Rake in Grass, makers of JetNGuns (8.5 from GameTunnel), Archibald’s Adventures (8.3 from GameTunnel)

Kitten Sanctuary
Cute puzzler from Pi Eye Games, makers of Scavenger (7.8 from GameTunnel), Darkside (GameTunnel’s 2007 Action Game of the Year) and System Mania (7.0 from GameTunnel)

Droplitz
Droplitz is a nice puzzle game to zone out with. Its system of unlocking new levels and game modes by reaching certain scores is very rewarding. Some might regret the lack of multiplayer, but there’s plenty of solid single-player puzzling to be done here. The art style and music don’t show a lot of personality, but the gameplay is simple and addicting. It’ll claim several hours of your life before you even notice they’re gone.- 7.5 from IGN

Serious Sam: The First Encounter HD
Remake of FPS that scored 9.0 at IGN

2010 GAMES

Command and Conquer 4

Avernum VI
The final chapter in the long running indie RPG series

Mechwarrior
The classic series returns.

Alien Breed Evolution
The legendary Amiga series is finally back!.

MODS

Return of the Shadow: The War of the Ring for Civlization III
Long scenario set in JRR Tolkien’s Middle Earth.

Blitzkrieg II: The Finest Hour for Command and Conquer Generals: Zero Hour
Blitz II is a massive World War II total conversion for C&C Generals: Zero Hour, where you can fight as the Allies, Axis or the Soviets.

WING: Commander – Invasion for Star Wars: Empire at War

Defense of the Ancients v6.60 for Warcraft 3

Heart of Evil: Napalm Editon for Half-Life
“Heart of Evil: Napalm Edition (HOE: NE) is a remake of the old mod Heart of Evil, a Vietnam themed war/survival horror FPS”

NeoTokyo for Half-Life 2
Incredible tactical cyberpunk mod.

Broken Crescent 2.0 for Medieval 2: Total War
A total conversion n centered on the Middle East starting from 1174 and concluding in 1400, featuring a new campaign map spanning from Anatolia to India and allowing the player to take control of one of 17 new factions.

Third Age for Medieval 2: Total War with Kingdoms add-on
A massive total conversion that brings Total War into JRR Tolkien’s Middle Earth

Westeros: Total War for Medieval 2: Total War with Kingdoms expansion pack
A total conversion recreating the world of George RR Martin’s “Song of Ice and Fire” series of novels..

Wind of Scandia for Medieval 2: Total War with Kingdoms add-on
A provincial campaign mod which starts in year 369, includes new factions(Veneds, Saxonians, Angles, Yuti) and covers territory of Scandinavia, the south of the Europe spome of the western western Russia.

Diadochi – Total War for Rome:Total War
This mod gives depth and accuracy to Diadochi factions, focusing on the era between the rise and fall of the successor states around 305 BC – 147 BC. Introducing two main campaigns, 279 BC and 305 BC.

The Fall of Rome for Rome:Total War with Barbarian Invasion expansion pack
Mod that recreates with great detail the last years of Rome, starting in 375 AD with the desruction of Ostrogoths’s empire by Huns and ending in 476 AD. The mod also expands the map to cover the entire sassanian empire and the entire roman Egypt.

The Hundred Years War for Mount and Blade

Shadow Rising for Mount and Blade
A Wheel of Time mod

Star Wars: Conquest for Mount and Blade
Star Wars total conversion

Fighter’s Challenge II for Neverwinter Nights with all expansion packs.
A conversion of a classic pnp DnD module from 1994 by Drew Bittner of the same name.

I, Strahd for Neverwinter Nights with all expansion packs.
Ravenloft module.

The Land of Thuul V2 for Neverwinter Nights with all expansion packs.
Large module with an oldschool DnD 1st edition like feeling.

Omegaptolemus, The Last Myrmidon for Neverwinter Nights with Hordes of the Underdark expansion pack

Trials of the Academy for Neverwinter Nights with all expansion packs.
A romance based module.

Arithel for Neverwinter Nights 2 with Mask of Betrayer expansion pack
You arrive at the small town/village of Elton which is located close to the Moonwatch Hills, along a trade route, between Phlan and Melvount. A few of the houses are charred and burned. They seem to be victims of a recent attack. And so an adventure begins.

The Wedding for The Witcher

The Grunt Invasion for Nexus: The Jupiter Incident

Japan Formula 3 2007 3.0 for rFactor

FREEWARE

1066
Deep and extremely addicting wargame of medieval warfare

HRmageddon
HRmageddon is a great office-based strategy game. Two players take it in turns to spread around the office, claiming cubicles as their own and destroying the opposition via staples to the eyes, server crashes and sexual harrassment.-Indiegames

World of Battles
Massively multiplayer real-time strategy game.

Warfare 1944
Awesome little tactical game that plays like a rewerded tower defense (ie you’re the attacking force and you have to plan waves of attack correctly)

Battlefield Heroes

Bulletsss
Puzzle platformer

Dungeons and Dungeons
D&D is a Castlevania parody involving S&M. Yes, you read it right. Guide Sadie and her little… ‘friend’ Max through 6 dungeons filled with explicitly dressed enemies and extremely crude weapons. It’s not just the naughty factor that makes this fun though – it’s an enjoyable platformer in its own right that’s actually pretty challenging in areas.-Indiegames

Get Off My Lawn
Arena action game where you mow down little critters that threaten your lawn.

The Great Red Herring Chase
In this game your goal is to tail numerous cars untill they reache their destination, the trick is that you’re a passanger in a taxi and you have to manualy type the commands for taxi driver (like “faster”, “turn left” etc)

The Hunter
HUnting sim with incredible graphics

KOI2 (Party-Tencho)
A score-based arcade game created by the developers of Kissma, where players are required to tap the forehead of their partner as many times as they can before time runs out. A rather bland concept if not for the power-ups, of which there are plenty of it. By collecting a special item you are temporarily bestowed with a random ability to use and a costume change to match the theme as well.-Indiegames

Neuron
Abstract arena shooter

Parasite
Great little platformer where you play evil alien parasite on his quest to turn peaceful forest into his private mining plant.

QQUAK
Ultra retro FPS inspired by Quake

sqr
Andy Wolff has created an incredibly erratic and confused shmup which is simple yet quite beautiful looking.-Indiegames

Swordless Ninja
Platform game.

Aubergine Sky
A short puzzle game which is controlled entirely using the mouse, with no keyboard input required from the player. The story follows a man who is taking a quiet stroll on the outskirts of his town, lost in his thoughts and deeply troubled by some personal worries. Your task is to figure out a solution to the puzzle in each location, and to execute the action correctly in order to progress.-Indiegames

Demolition City
Another physics-based tumbler by the guy who brought us Crush the Castle. Demolition City is all about blowing stuff up. You can’t say no to that. On each of the 20 levels, the idea is to place dynamite on the structure and them press the BOOM button and watch it fall. The rubble must fall below the displayed line and not collide with any of the surrounding buildings.-Indiegames

Gravitex 2
Abstract puzzler where your goal is to launch a ball to reach a black hole, collecting coins on the way. THe twist is that the game takes place in deep space, which affects physics (for example ball can get caught in planet’s gravity and circle it couple times before launching off in a slighshot maneouver)

Red Remover
Unique physic puzzler

Elder Scrolls Daggerfall
Bethsoft has released their classic cRPG for free.

Street Fighter 2 Championship Edition

Being One: Episode 1 – Escape the Lab
Quality SF adventure game

Bunni: how we first met
Reminiscent of Animal Crossing or Wandering Willows, Bunni combines role-playing, simulation and a non-linear format, resulting in a distinctly underused genre of gameplay- JayisGames

Covert Front 3: Night in Zurich
Spectacular spy-themed adventure game

Escapers #05 Space
Polished and refreshing escape the room game.

Heed
Short, but cute adventure game from Ben Chandler (Annie Android, Shifter’s Box)

Rosemary
Wonderful adventure game based on concept of exploring and arranging memories in attempt to solve the mystery.

Waiting Room
Lighthearted escape the room game.

MECHWARRIOR

Did I by accident slip into parrel universe where dreams of old pcgaming farts get fulfiled? Because first they announce new Monkey Island at E3 and now Mechwarrior is coming back? IGN has lenghty interview with Jordan Weisman (one of the guys who created the BattleTech univers) and Russ Bullock (president of Piranha Games, the developer behind the new Mechwarrior). I’ve read the interview, I’ve seen the footage. And well… it looks like Mechwarrior, the video is obviously scripted like hell, but it shows what they are aiming at. And I’m relived to say it does look like Mechwarrior 5, not MechAssault 3 which I was afraid off. Not everything is all that rosy though (just like Tales of Monkey Island announcement also wasn’t fulfillment of all our hopes).

So what I didn’t like?:

-First of all the developer isn’t exactly a known material and so far they’ve been only doing second rate console games
-It’s multiplatform. Hopefully they realize the main audience for this type of game is on PC and it will be a lead platform for it.
-They want to make 360 and PC gamers do crossplatform play, Shadowrun style. This is absolutely horrible idea, it didn’t work in Shadowrun, it won’t here. Not to mention it would mean P2P only MP and use of dreaded Games for Windows Live. We can only hope that whatever publisher they find he will beat this nonsense out of them.

Still, the trailer and interview made big enough impression on me that I’m cautiously optimistic. I doubt it will be as simulation heavy as Mechwarrior 3 (my favorite part of the franchise), but neither was Mechwarrior 4 and it didn’t stop me from enjoying the hell out of it. Plus it’s Unreal Engine 3, it’s not the best engine for a PC game, but it’s one that modding communities have plenty of experience with. So even if the new Mechwarrior ends up being disappointing in some areas, there’s a very good chance Mektek and others will fix everything that’s wrong with it.

But that’s not all.

To celebrate Battletech’s 25th anniversary Mechwarrior 4 will be released for free along with all expansion packs and MekTek’s glorious enchantments.

ALIEN BREED is coming back

Before I joined the glorious ranks of PC Gamers I was a hardcore Commodore fan (yes, instead of being “polluted by consoles”  my childhood was filled with stealing mother’s hairpins, squashing them with hammer and then using them to calibrate the Commodore64 cassette player . I was lucky though, my friends who had Atari XL had to leave the room when the game was loading as even a single squeak of wooden floor could result in AtariXL’s cassette player screwing up the game’s loading). Then came Amiga and with it Alien Breed. Team 17 back then was kind of what Blizzard is today to PCgaming. You could buy any game they made without reading any reviews, or even without actually knowing what it’s about. They were THAT good. And among Team 17 games Alien Breed was always the one series I loved the most. For years I’ve been waiting for a real follow up. I had to suffer through two attempts of turning the series into FPS, then I was hoping others might clone the concept successfully. Some have tried to do just that:  Shadowgrounds turned out to be a pretty nice Alien Breed clone. The ones that came the closest were modders though, as Alien Swarm mod for UT2004 not only managed to recreate the brilliance of Alien Breed, but actually succeed  in pushing the formula forward (which is why the recent lack of updates on commercial follow-up is breaking my heart).
As the Alien Breed is slated to be released on multitude of platforms, I doubt they will implement the great mouse-based controls Alien Swarm had, but even if it remains old school at it’s design, it’s still Alien Breed, I get all fluffy inside when I think about it.
New Mechwarrior and Alien Breed? For real? Next thing I know I will be hearing X-COM annoucement (yes please, pretty please! )

COMMAND AND CONQUER 4!

Of course the announcement alone is big news, after all the franchise is one of biggest ones PC Gaming has, but this time there reasons to get a lot more excited. In the interview the EA guy revealed not only that there will be no DRM but also that it’s developed as PC only title. Straight from the horse’s mouth:

While we are very proud of the work done [for] console versions of our previous titles, we are developing Command & Conquer 4 exclusively for the PC. Given the ambitious scope and significantly reworked infrastructure of this game, it felt like the right approach to focus purely on our core platform and make sure we get everything right.

I guess the terrible sales of Xbox 360’s versions of Command and Conquer 3 and Red Alert 3 are to blame for that
The game will finally attempt to redesign the formula (CnC hasn’t really changed since 1995). Of course it’s always risky to play with as strongly established formula as the one in CnC, but since there are currently two separate lines of CnC games it would be a great idea to experiment in one and then just polish and improve on the old formula in the other.

This week was also marred by some dissapoitments too. THe “big LucasArts” annoucement turned out to be adding their games to STEAM. An Alan Wake took a pretty dissapointing 360 only route (at least for now there are no comments on PC version), loosing open ended nature of it’s gameplay along the way.

Despite this though, there’s no denying it was a week filled with insane annoucements and even some problems can’t downplay just how awesome the last couple days have been for PCgamers.